Heatwave
by DeadGrlSprStr666
Summary: Forks and La Push High School's organize a joint camping trip for the Senior and Junior classes, what could go wrong? It's Twilight meets Friday the 13th and no one is safe when a crazed killer is on the loose...or is the killer one of them? Story contains graphic horror including murder and multiple character deaths.
1. Ch 01: Calm Before the Storm

**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight and all recognizable characters and situations contained therein. All original content is property of the author. This story is rated M, and will contain drug use, graphic sexual situations, adult language, and graphic violence, horror, and multiple character deaths, this is a HORROR story, and **_**no**__**one**_** is safe, well, no one but the murderer, and maybe one or two survivors... You have been warned!**

**A/N: I've been working on this story for a while now, it was originally supposed to be a one shot, but I think it'll be quicker to do it as maybe a 5-10 chapter story. So, here's the first one.**

****Day 7****

_It was hot, too fucking hot. The kind of hot that made you sticky and slick just turning over on the couch, the kind of hot that made even the lightest of cotton stick like glue to your skin. Washington state hadn't known this kind of hot in years…decades almost. Hot, gorgeous, sunny… too bad Paul was in Hell._

_Paul Dixon knew it was a bad idea to go on the joint field trip that La Push and Forks High had decided to do for the senior and junior classes, but most of his friends, and most of all his girlfriend, had wanted to go. So he had decided to suck it up and go, and if he lived through this, he would never doubt his intuition ever again…_

**** 3 weeks prior****

Paul's girlfriend Bella Swan sits in his lap on the couch in his living room, she strokes his cheek, as she implores, "C'mon Babe! I don't want to go if you're not going, and I have to go because Dad already agreed to be one of the chaperones!"

Paul rolls his eyes, "That's not my fault! I really don't want to go Baby. I mean c'mon yourself, it's not like we're going to be able to do anything debaucherous, we probably won't even get a minute to ourselves the entire time we're there! Can't you just fake sick the day they're supposed to leave?"

Bella pouted, and Paul knew he was gonna cave. He couldn't resist that pout(and Bella knew this), and even more so when she ran her hands through his thick black hair, and intoned, "Pleeease Babe? I promise I'll figure out how to get my dad out of the way so we can sneak in a quickie..."

Paul laughed, deep and booming, "Alright, alright. You'd better make good on your promise babe."

Smiling slyly, she rubs her hands over his muscular chest, "Don't I always?"

He tangles his hands in her long brown-red hair and pulls her in for a deep kiss, mumbling, "mhm" against her mouth.

****One Week Later****

Bella and Paul met outside Forks High School, their fathers made polite small talk, as they followed their children into the school. Charlie had never truly warmed up to Paul, he had always hoped that Bella would get tired of the bad boy and end up with his best friend Billy's son Jacob. Unfortunately for him though, Bella had never seen Jake as anything more than a friend and brother figure. Paul Dixon Sr. though had always adored Bella, and he was hoping more than anything that the two stayed together. Bella had a calming effect on Paul Jr., and Sr. was hoping that she could talk Paul into being the first Dixon to go to college.

The group made its way to the cafeteria, the senior and junior classes of Forks and La Push were meeting there to talk about the trip, get everything squared away as far as groups, and bus assignments went.

Bella, Paul, and their fathers took a seat at the table with Sue and Harry Clearwater, their daughter Leah, and Allison Uley and her son Sam who is Leah's boyfriend. Sam and Paul had been best friends since kindergarten along with Jared Tompkins, and Leah had grown up with Bella, the two were practically sisters. Especially with how much help Sue and Harry had given Charlie with her after Renee ran off with a gym teacher from San Francisco.

Everyone chit chatted while the rest of their classmates who were interested in going on the trip, and their parents, made their way in and sat down. Principal Greene, the principal of Forks High school came in, and took a microphone while Dr. Terrence the principal of LPH sat to the side, "Okay folks, I think everyone who gave permission slips is here now, and if not, they just won't have a choice what group they're in."

He takes a drink of water, and continues, "Obviously we're not all going to be able to go to the same campground. The school has gone to a great amount of trouble to set this end of the year treat up for you, and we expect everyone to be on their absolute best behavior! That means no drinking, NO musical sleeping bags, no fires outside of designated fire pits, and **absolutely no drugs**!"

Of course a raucous student has to shout from the back, "WHY EVEN GO THEN?"

Principal Greene scowls, then snaps, "You **won't** be going if you keep that up Mr. Newton!"

He takes a calming breath, and goes on, "Now, Group A will be in the site farthest away, that site is a good half a days drive from anything else, and while it is the only site with a lake rather than a river, it does not have a radio. Therefore Chief Swan's group will be the one taking that site. Groups are going to consists of 20 people maximum! This must include at least 2 adults, one of whom must be a faculty member of either Forks or La Push High School!"

Charlie Swan picks up the roster sheet, and starts filling in names, Group A consists of Bella, Charlie himself, Paul, Sam, Leah, her mother who is fulfilling the faculty requirement since she's the school nurse in LPH, Billy who has a van, his son Jake, Jake's best friends Quil Ateara and Embry Call, Jared and his girlfriend Kim Connors, and also Bella's friends Angela Webber and her boyfriend Ben Cheney, Bens best friend Tyler Crowley and his girlfriend Jessica Stanley, Jessica's best friend Lauren Mallory, her on/off boyfriend Mike Newton along with his father, and Angela's father who is the preacher in Forks Methodist Church for a total of 20.

He hands the sheet back up to Principal Greene, who tells them, "Okay, Group A unfortunately the bus company wouldn't provide transportation to that particular campground, so you're on your own to get up there. A Park Ranger will meet you up there at 8 am on Saturday morning, and he'll be back to check on things before you leave the following Saturday night. Chief Swan, these people's lives, as always, are in your hands."

Charlie nods, "Everything will be fine."

****Another week later; Leaving Day****

Group A met in the Forks High School parking lot at 8 pm on Friday night. The day had been spent preparing for this drive. Coolers had been packed, snack food purchased in abundance, non-alcoholic beverages only of course.

Bella checked the hidden compartment in her backpack discretely, she had an ounce of bud packed into a plastic bag inside another bag filled with coffee grounds, and a bowl along with several lighters in the compartment, and she couldn't wait to commune with nature. Paul couldn't wait either, he was planning on getting Bella to sneak out into the lake for some skinny dipping. He had brought a big bottle of sleeping pills and fully intended on slipping Charlie a few one night.

Sam and Leah were driving up with Jared and Kim, while Bella and Paul were riding with Charlie, and also Leah's mom Sue. Billy was taking Jake, Quil, and Embry, Angela and Ben were riding with her Dad, Lauren and Mike with his dad, and Tyler since he and Jess were in the middle of an argument had decided that he would ride with Ben while Jess stayed with Lauren and Mike.

Everyone settled into their assigned cars, Charlie gave the signal and pulled out in front of the caravan. He was used to being lead car, and everyone naturally fell in line behind him. Bella reaches out for Paul's hand, as she asks, "Dad, why are we leaving so early?"

He catches her eye in the rearview, "Bella didn't you pay attention at the meeting? Our campsite is a 5 hour drive past the rest of them, it's the most beautiful, but it is the most remote too. Which is why we have 5 adults as opposed to the 2 apiece the other groups have, it's also why we have a police officer, a nurse, and Mr. Newton who knows all there is to know about camping and outdoors safety. If anyone gets injured while we're up there it's a pretty far drive to get them to help. So we're leaving now because the state park is 5 hours away, then it's 2 hours to the edge of the last closest campsite before ours, and then another 5 hours to our campground."

Bella sits back for 20 minutes, and then shudders before exclaiming, "You're going to drive the whole way!"

Charlie shakes his head, "No, of course not. Sue will take over driving for me in about 5 hours, that'll give her time to sleep some, and then we'll switch again. Jake is going to take over for Billy, I believe Angela will drive some, and Mike as well."

Bella nods, "Oh. Okay."

Sue opens her eyes, "Does anyone know what the weather is supposed to be like?"

Charlie nods, "We're supposed to get a heat wave, nothing too major. At least it means we can enjoy the lake!"

****About 90 minutes later** **

Bella moves into the middle of the bench seat in the back of Charlie's old station wagon, and straps herself in, leaning against Paul who puts his arm around her as she closes her eyes. He avoids the glare Charlie is giving him, choosing to close his eyes and sleep himself.

****Around 1:30am****

Paul and Bella wake as Charlie pulls to a stop in the parking lot of a rest area. Sue stretches and yawns, "Hoooo that was a long ride. You kids better go to the bathroom now, there's no other rest stations till we get to the park."

The rest of the cars pull in around them, everyone gets out either just to stretch, or to make use of the facilities, though some are clearly already keen to get in trouble, Mr. Newton's voice calls out, "Michael! The men's room is on the other side!"

Mike rolls his eyes at his father, who for too long has treated his son like a buddy and is now ruing those choices and their consequences, as Mike says, "Thanks a lot cock-block!"

Mr. Newton takes a deep breath, chanting to himself lowly, "Must not kill the boy…must not kill the boy…"

Slowly everyone makes their way back to the vehicles, drinks are pulled from coolers, Bella hands her father, Sue, and Paul each a foil wrapped sandwich, "It's almond butter. Sue, I know you're allergic to peanuts."

Sue smiles as she takes the sandwich "thank you sweetheart."

Bella nods, "You're welcome!"

Paul and Bella take their sandwiches over to a picnic table, and they sit down, Bella asks, "So on a scale of 1 to 10 how much do you hate me for making you come?"

Paul shakes his head, "I could never hate you Baby! I **love** you, but I want you to think about all the nasty, _dirty_, **sexy** things we could be doing to each other right now if we had stayed home like I wanted."

Bella smirks, her flirty smile accompanied by an arch of her brow as she says, "I'm sure we'll be able to get some time alone. Dad says Mr. Newton has planned a bunch of long hikes…you know I'm not hiking."

Paul laughs, the idea of his clumsy girlfriend on a hike both amuses, and frightens him. They finish eating, and Paul throws their trash out, before wrapping his arm around her waist and leading her back to the car.

Sue gets in the drivers' seat, "It got warm already, I guess that heat wave came on quicker than they thought."

Bella nods, "It'll be nice to use the lake at least. Does the campground have any sort of electricity?"

Charlie laughs, shaking his head, "Bella…People don't go camping to use electricity! Roughing it is supposed to be part of the experience!"

He catches Paul's eye in the rearview, "Am I right, Paul?"

Paul nods, he's always wanted Bella's fathers' approval, "Yes sir! Though if it's this warm out now, this late at night, then I know I'm gonna be missing my air conditioning before too long."

Sue nods, "I agree with that!

****Day 1****

The caravan climbs the last hill, Bella squeals in delight as she points, "Oh my god! Look how beautiful that lake is!"

The lake is indeed picturesque, the whole campground is, the sleeping cabins are large, and the fire pit is big enough to do a really good sized bonfire.

Paul quips, "Well I guess roughing it has changed a bit…"

Charlie shrugs, as he parks the car in front of the main cabin, "no electric is pretty rough to me, though sleeping in cabins, and the whole having a place to shower thing kind of takes away from the experience…"

Sue shakes her head, "At least the cabins will be dry, and hopefully bug free."

Bella nods, then asks, "So, uh, what are the cabin assignments gonna be like"

Charlie glares at Paul, as he answers, "You girls will be with Sue. Paul, Sam, and Jared will be with me. Tyler, Mike and Ben will be with Mike's father and Reverend Webber. Embry, Quil and Jake will be with Billy"

Sue shakes her head, "Charlie, the cabins only sleep 5 people each, you're leaving an additional cabin, and putting too many in the girls."

Bella smiles innocently, "Well…Leah, Kim, and I could take the extra one." She regards her father, "I mean since you're sharing your cabin with Paul, Sam, and J you know they won't be able to sneak out and see us. Frankly I think Jess and Lauren way need more supervision than Leah, Kim, and I do."

Paul is careful to keep his face neutral as Sue says, "She has a point Charlie. Bella and Leah are both pretty responsible, and Kim even more so, those other two though…."

Charlie sighs, "Fine. I guess you're right."

Bella smiles, while Paul does his best to keep his face blank. Everyone starts getting out of the cars as a state park vehicle pulls up and a ranger gets out. Charlie introduces himself to the ranger, shaking the man's hand, as he says, "Forks Police Chief Charlie Swan. Good to meetcha"

The Ranger replies, "Ranger Jesse Collins. I just need to make sure you're aware of our policies. No drugs, no fires outside of the fire pit, swimming is at your own risk. This is our most remote campsite, it used to be used by one of the Native tribes to do their Spirit Quests. The main building has a fridge, a locker room with shower stalls, and a generator, no ac or hot water, but there should be enough gas in the tank to last you the week."

He pauses, and looks very uncomfortable, playing with his hat, as he says, "I have to disclose, there was a murder here."

At this the girls look scared, and most of the adults get worried looks on their faces, as the Ranger continues, "The killer was one of the Native men here to do his spirit quest, he disappeared before we even knew what had happened, all we found were the bodies, and a note written in their blood that said, 'the spirit made me do it'. No one knows what happened to him."

Dad looks torn between being angry at the man, and wanting to laugh, he goes with stern, "Well, I appreciate the disclosure, probably could have done without the details though Ranger Collins. Some of these girls probably won't sleep the entire week now, which means none of us are gonna get any sleep, so thanks."

Ranger Collins looks sheepish, "Sorry, most people like the scare factor. Anyways, have a good visit, I'll be up next Saturday afternoon to check things out before you leave. I do ask that you wait for me to do my assessment before leaving."

Charlie nods, "Sure thing.", and the two shake hands again before Ranger Collins gets back in his truck, drives around the fire pit, and heads back down the hill. Jessica lets out a scared whimper, before stating emphatically, "I want to go home!"

Charlie sighs loudly, "Well if your cell gets reception call your mother or father to pick you up, otherwise, you are stuck here for the duration, just like the rest of us!"

Bella scoffs, "Come on Jess, you don't really believe that guy do you? That's probably just some made up story they tell all the campers who choose this campground! You heard him, most people like the scare factor, it's all bullshit!"

Billy speaks up, "Actually, it really did happen…they were members of the Makah tribe. It was over a decade ago though, they stopped doing vision quests after that."

Even Bella looks nervous now, as she says, "Oh…well, still more than 10 years ago, if the guy was alive they would have found him by now, or he's dead himself. Still, maybe we should go back. We'll catch up to that ranger guy and just tell him we changed our minds…"

Paul wraps an arm around her shoulders, "Come on Babe! You're not scared are you? Charlie's here, I'm sure he brought his gun too, and even if he didn't, you know neither of us would ever let you get hurt."

Charlie huffs impatiently, "We can't refute that murders did happen here. They've probably happened at every campground in America though. Everyone just calm down. Bella you were right the first time, it's been over 10 years since those murders, if that man was alive someone would have seen him by now, since no one has then he must have either killed himself out of guilt, or been killed by the elements or an animal in the woods. That being said, I don't want anyone in the woods alone, which would have been the case even without the extra scare factor. The forest can be dangerous, any number of things could hurt you, better to go with someone so if you get injured they can go for help."

The group nods and everyone agrees to stick with a buddy. The sun is shining brightly, and even though it's only about 8 in the morning, it's already close to 85 degrees with a good amount of humidity to it.

Charlie claps his hands together, "OK, let's get the cars unloaded and everything put away!"

****About an hour later****

With all the food put away in the fridge, the generator running, and the cabin assignments done, there was nothing left to do but start enjoying the trip. Bella, Leah, and Kim are in their cabin, reveling in the fact that they would be largely unsupervised for the duration. Leah sighs, "You know Chief Dad is gonna have Paul, Sam, and J on lockdown right?"

Bella laughs, "well he can try…Paul's gonna slip him a mickey. He brought a big thing of sleeping pills with him."

Leah bursts out laughing, "Good ol' Paul… always prepared…"

Bella joins in, "Well, you know, he was a boy scout for all of ten minutes before he got kicked out. He really took those ten minutes seriously though."

The three girls howl laughter, but get control of themselves quickly, as Leah says, "Damn, let's get our suits on and get out and enjoy that lake!"

The girls change quickly, all three had brought bikinis in anticipation of being able to use the lake, and Bella had brought plenty of spf 150 sunblock. She grabs her sunblock, her bag, and her towel, and she, Leah, and Kim head out to the lakeside.

Paul sees the girls heading to the lake, and gives a loud wolf whistle out the window, which makes Bella giggle and yell back, "Paul come out! I'm gonna need you to help me put lotion on!"

Paul yells, "I'll be right there baby!"

He rifles through his bag till he finds the swim trunks he packed, and hurriedly changes his clothes, and grabs his towel, yelling over to Sam, and J, "Dudes get ready and come down to the lake, the girls are already there."

Sam nods, as Paul runs out the door meeting up with Bella on the sand. She laughs, "Damn! That was fast baby."

Paul smirks, "Well yeah, I was worried that if I took too long that you'd put on all the lotion without me."

The foursome set their towels on the sand, Paul sits down, spreading his legs out and patting the space between, "come here, Babe."

She sits down and hands him the lotion, before asking, "Do you know where my dad is?"

Paul answers, "I think he and Mr. Newton are in the woods scoping out the perimeter, something like that."

He squirts a dollop of lotion into his hands and starts rubbing Bella's shoulders, she moans, as his hands glide up and down her arms, down over the bare expanse of her back, making sure he gets each and every inch, then circling around to do her stomach, as she exclaims, "God you're good at that."

As Paul finishes up rubbing the lotion into her skin, Sam runs down and flops on the towel next to Leah, "So what's the plan? Skinny dip?"

Leah laughs, "Maybe later tonight. Though it's probably not the best idea to start sneaking out right away."

Kim agrees, "Yeah, not sure you wanna start with the sleeping pills right away. Let him have a chance to settle in first. This way he doesn't see it coming."

The group settle in on their towels, as Jared comes and joins them, and they start soaking up the sun…the others come down and settle a little ways away. Angela walks over to them, her voice mournful, as she asks, "Why did you have to leave me with Lauren and Jess?"

Bella shrugs, in truth she and Leah, and through Leah she and Kim, are a lot closer than she and Angela. There were things she and Paul could do without worry in the same room as Leah, Sam, Kim, and Jared, that they just wouldn't feel comfortable doing with Angela there.

Leah speaks up, crudely as usual, "Listen Virgin Angie, do you really want to watch or listen to us get it on with our guys when you haven't even given yours a hand-job yet?"

Angela scrunches her face up in annoyed mortification, "Jesus, Leah! Do you **have** to be so _vulgar_?"

Bella rolls her eyes as Angela stomps off, throwing back at them, "Like your dad is going to let the guys out of his sight anyway, Bella!"

Bella's annoyance ramps up as Lauren yells over, "Hey Boys!"

The guys roll their eyes, and Bella huffs, "That girl has absolutely no shame. I mean Mike's right there!"

Leah, starts to get up, but Sam pulls her back down, saying, "Don't babe, skanks like that ain't worth it."

Leah waves dismissively, "you're right."'

She pulls Sam close, kissing him passionately, their tongues intertwining, while Sam runs his hands all over her.

Paul smirks, Bella however spots Sue coming around the corner, and reaches out to pinch Leah hard. Immediately she breaks the kiss to snap, "What the fu…Hey Mom!"

Sue gives the group a suspicious once over, "Girls. I hope the three of you don't make me regret taking your side with Charlie on the cabin issue."

Leah looks suspicious now, "Why did you? I know it's not because you trust us so much."

Sue shrugs, and her voice is strange, as she answers "Better you three, than those other two. I can punish the three of you myself if it comes right down to that. With those other two I have to worry about their parents getting their noses out of joint if I say the wrong thing to them."

Bella looks at her funny, she's known Sue her whole life, and she can tell when she's hiding something. Before she can call her on it though, Sue turns and walks away. Leah looks around at the group, "Does anyone else think she was full of shit there, or was it just me?"

Bella raises her hand, "Nope, I caught it too, she was definitely hiding something."

The girls shrug, and Paul pulls Bella back against him, moving her hair off her neck and kissing the soft skin at the nape, raising goose bumps, as she shivers and moans, "Mmm, Jesus, you're a bad man Paul."

Paul smirks, continuing to rub her shoulders, as he says, "And aren't you lucky little girl, I'm all yours!"

Bella smiles, leaning into him, "Trust me Babe, I know _just_ how _**lucky**_ I am."

****Time skip, around 10:00 that same night****

Paul wraps his arm around Bella as they sit around the raging bonfire, she balks slightly, "I'm all sweaty, Babe."

Paul laughs, and whispers in her ear, "So what, Baby? You know I like you best when you're all slick and sweaty…"

She just smiles slyly at him, before saying out loud, "I thought it was supposed to get cooler at night?"

Charlie replies from the opposite side of the fire, "I told you we were supposed to get a heat wave Bells, I guess it just came on a lot quicker than expected."

Lauren, Mike, Jessica, and Tyler come down and settle in on one of the log benches with a bag of marshmallows and a bunch of sticks, they divvy them out amongst the group and everyone settles down to cook the sticky sweet treats.

Lauren catches Bella's eye across the fire, and quips, "So Bella, Jess Ang and I were thinking that if you and your girls weren't too chicken, we'd come over to your cabin tonight."

Bella rolls her eyes, "Why would we be scared of that? I mean besides your horrible personality…"

Lauren smirks, "Well, I know how scared you get whenever we play with the Spirit Board. I mean, didn't you practically piss yourself last time?"

Again, Bella just rolls her eyes, scoffing, "We were like 7 years old, Lauren. I think I'll be okay."

Leah speaks up, "What's a Spirit Board?"

Smirking nastily, Lauren answers, "It's like a Ouija board. One of those Parker Bradley games or whatever, only real. You'll see the difference when I bring it over later."

Charlie speaks up, "Okay, it's late. Paul, Sam, and J, if you want to clean up before bed go over to the main building now. Otherwise you'll wait till morning. Girls if you're going to be hanging out in one cabin you all need to leave together. No one at a time bullshit. I don't want anyone getting lost or hurt wandering around by themselves in the dark, you stay together with your cabin mates until morning or you stay in your cabin. Now get going, Mr. Newton and I will get the bonfire shut down."


	2. Ch 02: Secrets Out

**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight and all recognizable characters and situations contained therein. All original content is property of the author. This story is rated M, and will contain drug use, graphic sexual situations, adult language, and graphic violence, horror, and multiple character deaths, this is a HORROR story, and **_**no**__**one**_** is safe, well, no one but the murderer, and maybe one or two survivors... You have been warned!**

**A/N: Just so we're all on the same page here: All of the Forks kids on the trip are going into senior year, as are all of the La Push kids with the exceptions of Jake, Embry, and Quil who are going into junior year. It's roughly mid-August, and the trip was planned for the incoming senior and junior classes. Sam, Paul, Leah, Angela, Lauren, Mike, Tyler, and Ben are all 18. Bella, Jessica, Kim, and Jared are 17. Embry, Quil, and Jake are all 16. **

****Later in the evening****

Lauren, Jessica, and Angela walk together over to the cabin that Bella is sharing with Leah and Kim, Jessica is still spooked, "Lauren, come on, please! Just, let's put the board away, and I don't know… maybe play nice with Bella…"

Lauren rolls her eyes, "Stop being such a **baby**, Jessica! I mean seriously, maybe I'm remembering it wrong, and _you're_ the one who peed yourself over the board.

_****Meanwhile, in another part of the campground**_** ****

Sue and Charlie stand shrouded in the cover of the trees. Sue's voice is deeply troubled, "Charlie, I really think you're making a mistake!"

Charlie's voice is stubborn, as he rebuffs her, "The only mistake I made was not doing this earlier! I'm doing this for her own good, you know that!"

Sue disagrees, "No, I don't know that!"

She puts her hands on her hips, and her voice raises, "Jesus, Charlie, the girl is seventeen! She'll be eighteen, and a_ legal adult _in just over a month! What do you hope to accomplish by what I can only call a **bully **tactic? Do you really think she'll go along with this quietly? Hell, maybe she will, but I can guarantee you, all you're going to do is piss her off to the point that on the day _**after**_ her eighteenth birthday she'll be on the first plane back here, and then she'll _marry_ **him** and **never** speak to _**you**_ **again**!"

Charlie huffs, "At least I'll be able to say I tried! That guy is going **nowhere**, and I'm not going to let him take my daughter with him without a fight!"

Turning he stomps off. Sue looks around, shuddering at the feeling that she's being watched, and hurries back to her cabin.

They thought that no one was around, but at least two heard them.

_****Back at Bella's cabin.****_

Lauren places the board on the table in the corner of the room and drags it out into the middle. The cabin is dark and shadowy, lit only by a couple of kerosene lanterns that throw shadowy dancing figures on the wall.

The other girls gather round, Jessica still looks scared, and she makes one last ditch effort to shut the shit show down, "C'mon guys… maybe this isn't such a good idea. I mean, you heard what that Ranger said! The guy who murdered those people said the SPIRIT **MADE** HIM _DO_ _IT_!"

Lauren fixes her with a glare, "Jessica, if you don't shut the fuck up I swear to **all **the spirits that I will **shut you up**. I mean let's be serious, that guy was clearly crazy, '_the spirit made me do it_', spirit my ass! He was crazy and it made a good excuse! Now, you know that I know how to use this board, my mom taught me, and she learned from her mom, who learned from her mom, and so on and so forth all the way back to the puritan days and the Salem Witch Trials."

Bella is determined to shut Lauren up, once and for all. She pulls out one of the heavy chairs with a clatter, and sits down in it, "Ok, **Witch**, you want to play? Let's play then. Sit down, or take your board back to your cabin, and shut the fuck up."

Lauren smirks, and takes the seat across from Bella, "Well, well, well. Look who put on her big-girl panties and came to play. You know how this works, Bella."

She turns to Angela, "Angela, _dear_, please get me the shot glass from my purse."

Angela hurriedly does as she's told, and Leah smirks, "That was some snap to, girl. Would you wipe her ass if she told you to?"

Angela scowls at her, and snaps, "Oh just shut up, **Bitch**!"

The Spirit Board was constructed from a flat piece of drift wood, it's roughly rectangular shape approximately 18 by 16 inches. The surface is sanded down and smoothed, with rough pine trees carved into the background. In one corner it says 'yes', on the opposite side is 'no', and between yes and no an owl has been carved, underneath that the alphabet is carved in two rows of 13, a third row has numbers from 0 to 9, and below that in fancier letters has been carved one word, '_Goodbye'_.

Lauren takes the shot-glass from Angela, and places it bottoms up in the center of the board. She smirks, and places two fingers lightly on top of the glass, raising an eyebrow, as she says, "Well, Bella? In or out?"

Bella sighs, and places her pointer and middle finger on the other edge of the glass, gasping in alarm as her fingers feel almost glued to the spot where they're connected to the small cup. Lauren arches a perfectly manicured brow, and feigning innocence, asks, "What's wrong, Bella?"

Bella jerks her hand back, expecting that her fingers won't release from the glass, but they do. She swallows compulsively, and her fingers tremble slightly as she places them back on the bottom of the glass.

The rest of the girls gather around, and Lauren's voice takes on an ethereal tone, as she says, "Spirits, we call you! Heed us! We seek knowledge of the world beyond. Teach us!"

Lauren's voice becomes sharper, and she questions, "Spirits! Are we alone?"

The glass, with both girls' fingers on it, jerks to the upper left hand corner, to the word 'NO'. Jessica lets out a strangled yelp of fear, and Lauren speaks again, "Will you answer our questions?"

The shot-glass moves quickly across the board to point to the word, 'YES', and Jessica speaks up, "That's enough, Lauren! It's real funny and all, but enough is enough!"

Lauren's voice goes suddenly toneless, and horrible, not at all like her regular voice, as she says, "Enough, yes, enough _is_ enough. One is coming, one will inhabit, one will force, one will **KILL**!"

As soon as the last word leaves Lauren's mouth a giant flash of lightning rends the night sky, followed by a tremendous boom of thunder. The lightning hits one of the stones in the fire pit outside, and all the girls but Lauren and Bella scream in terror.

Lauren and Bella lock eyes across the board, another round of thunder sounds, this one so powerful that it shakes the entire cabin, a flash erupts, seemingly from the board itself, and it flings both girls backwards onto the floor.

Leah rushes to Bella's side, shouting, "Bella! Bella, are you alright?"

Jessica grabs the board, the shot glass seems all but fused to it, and she throws it out the door, as Lauren shrieks, "NO! Are you insane? That board is 400 years old!"

Jessica puts her hands on her hips, and shouts, "I don't give a fucking shit if it's 4000 years old, given to Jesus by _**God**_ himself! You want it, **you** go get it!"

Leah helps Bella to her feet, and then slow claps, sarcastically saying, "Good work on growing a backbone there, Jessica. Let's hope it lasts beyond the weekend… Now, the three of you need to get the fuck out of here!"

Bella is visibly shaken, an odd light seems to twinkle from her eye, just a trick of the light.

Leah takes her by the arm, and leads her over to the bed, before turning back and addressing the others, "Angela, and Jessica, get out!"

Jessica starts to argue, "Please, Leah, can I please stay here?"

Leah shakes her head, "GO!"

Lauren has already gone out into the storm to grab her board, the other two follow after her, leaving Leah, Bella, and Kim alone in their cabin. Kim breaks the silence, "Bella are you okay?"

Bella looks shaken, but she nods, and clears her throat before responding, "Y, yeah, I'm fine. The thunder was really what scared me, and then that lightning! That flash, it must have been the lightning reflecting off the window, but it seemed like it was right in here with us!"

Leah nods, "It was certainly fuckin freaky. Let's just go to sleep, everything will be better in the morning."

Paul's eyes pop open in the darkness, as someone shakes his shoulder, as his eyes slowly adjust they focus on Sam who is kneeling next to his bunk in the darkness. Confused, he asks, "Sam? What's up, Man?"

Sam holds up a finger, and listens for Chief Swan's buzz-saw snoring, he hears it, and whispers, "Dude, I have to talk to you, not here though… Let's go outside."

Paul gets up, throwing on the t-shirt he had left draped across the rung of the ladder leading up to the top bunk, and follows Sam to the door.

The two move quietly out of the cabin, and Sam leads the way into the forest. The heat storm had passed on for the moment, but the moonlight was hazy and ominous. Sam walks a little further out, enough so that they won't be seen if anyone happens to look out a window, and then stops, and leans against a tree.

Paul crosses his arms, asking, "What's going on, Sam?"

Sam runs one hand through his hair, while he rambles, "I don't know, maybe I should just stay out of it, but if it was Leah, man I'd want to know!"

Even more confused now, Paul asks, "Know what? Spit it out!"

Sighing, Sam answers, "Bella's leaving. Charlie's sending her away."

Goggling in shock, Paul scoffs, "No way! Charlie wouldn't send her away, he loves her! He wouldn't do that!"

Sam's tone is low, defeated, as he replies, "He would if he thought it was the only way to get her away from you."

Paul starts to get agitated, his voice raises, "Away from ME? What do you mean get her away from _**me**_? That's insane! Bella would never go along with it! Oh man, just wait until I tell her, she's going to explode on him! I knew he never really warmed up to me, he never made any secret of the fact that he'd have much preferred for Bella to date Jake Black, but I NEVER thought he'd go this route! Of all the fucking nerve! So he's planning to just ship her off? Where's he sending her that he thinks is going to erase me from her memory? He can't be thinking about sending her to her mother's, she hasn't even spoken to Bella since before Bella could talk! That sanctimonious son of a bitch! I'm gonna marry that girl, Sam. Whether that son of a bitch likes it or not!"

During his rant, Paul has started to pace back and forth. Sam grabs his elbow, and holds him steady, trying to level with him, "Dude, he's her dad. You can't just tell her he's a giant creep, she probably won't even believe you! She and Charlie have always been close, you should just try to accept it. Bella's as good as gone. Leah's going to freak… Maybe you should just dump her, Paul. Just for a few months, she's going to be 18 soon, he can't do shit after that. At least this way she won't have to leave everyone."

This train of thought only increases Paul's anger, and he snaps, "You asshole! Do you know how she would feel if I proposed that? I mean shit! We've been together for 2 **years**! Her Dad's always been an asshole, plus even if I could get her to play along with that, if we fake broke up until she was 18, don't you think he would realize that we were playing him? He's a fucking asshole, but unfortunately he's not a _stupid_ fucking asshole!"

Sam shrugs, "I guess you're right. I don't know what to tell you man, I'm sorry. I just thought you should know…"

Paul calms slightly, he knows his friend really didn't have bad intentions, it was just a shitty situation that he and Bella would have to face together. Charlie Swan was going to find out that Paul Dixon Jr was nobody's pushover. He wasn't going to give up his girl without a fight.

The two of them start back to the camp, there's a horrible popping noise from somewhere off in the distance behind them, and Sam pulls Paul back, his eyes are wide and spooked as he asks in a harsh whisper, "The fuck was that?"

Paul shrugs, "dunno man, probably just an animal passing over and breaking a tree limb or something…"

Sam nods, taking a breath, and getting himself together. "Okay. C'mon, let's get back before they know we're gone…"


End file.
